But the Welsh region are refusing to hit the panic button with Jones likely return to be governed by his enforced conditioning programme and not the side's fortunes. A decision is set to be made early this week on whether he will feature against Glasgow in Swansea on Friday evening or held back for the game against the Scarlets in Llanelli the following weekend.

"We have a plan in place for Adam," assistant coach Gruff Rees told the South Wales Echo. "We will speak to our conditioning staff as to how he's been doing and will make a call early this week, with lots of players picking up bumps and bruises against Ulster.

"But some of the front row put their hands in the air on Saturday. Aaron Jarvis has been a stand-out in the first couple of weeks. So we are certainly not expecting someone like Adam to come riding to the rescue. We're about far more than that. We're about the collective getting stronger together.

"Coaches, players and management have to pull us out of the slight hole we are in. We knew we'd be rusty, but we are not the worst side in the world. We know what made us champions last term. We have to get back to trusting our instincts."

Rees insisted the problems the side were experiencing were fixable in a short time, but added: "In many ways we were the architects of our own downfall, because we were pressurising them in their 22 and failed to come away with points.

"There are no excuses. Towards the end of last season we had an intent to play good rugby but it was with control. We don't have that balance at the moment. We don't sustain pressure on our opponents for long enough."